MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


By 

REV.  MARTIN  J.  SCOTT,  S.J. 


THE  PAULIST  PRESS 
401  West  59th  Street 
New  York  19,  N.  Y. 


Reprinted , with  permission , from 

“FATHER  SCOTT S 
RADIO  TALKS 99 

Copyright,  P.  J.  Kenedy  & Sons 
«•— •* 


PRINTED  AND  PUBLISHED  IN  THE  U.  S.  A.  BY 
THE  PAULIST  PRESS,  NEW  YORK  19,  N.  Y. 


] 


MARRIAGE 

IT  is  doubtful  if  there  is  anything  more  vital  to  human 
society  than  marriage.  The  family  is  the  basis  of  so- 
ciety, and  marriage  is  the  basis  of  the  family.  If  the 
marriage  bond  be  loose,  both  family  and  society  will  suffer. 
If  the  marriage  bond  be  firm,  both  family  and  society  will 
be  secure.  History  attests  that  wherever  and  whenever  mar- 
riage has  been  regarded  lightly  by  a people  disaster  has 
followed. 

The  home  is  the  heart  of  the  nation.  Citizenship  and 
patriotism  depend  on  the  character  of  the  home.  Men  who 
have  good  homes  and  beloved  families  will  serve  well  and 
loyally  the  country  which  protects  them.  The  home  will  be 
right,  ordinarily,  if  the  marriage  bond  be  right  and  re- 
spected. 

People  sometimes  ask  why  the  Catholic  Church  puts 
so  much  importance  on  marriage.  It  is  because  Christ  has 
set  her  the  example.  Rather,  it  is  because  she  is  carrying 
out  His  solemn  mandate  in  the  matter.  The  Catholic 
Church  did  not  institute  Christian  marriage.  Christian  mar- 
riage is  the  institution  of  Jesus  Christ  Who  elevated  it  to 
the  dignity  of  a sacrament.  In  the  design  of  the  Creator 
marriage  was  intended  as  the  proper  means  of  perpetuating 
the  human  race.  Originally,  marriage  was  a perpetual  bond 
between  one  man  and  one  woman,  but  human  license  had 
eventually  weakened  it  and  lowered  it  from  its  high  estate. 
Christ  restored  marriage  to  its  original  status,  and  more- 
over dignified  it  by  making  it  a sacred  rite  of  His  holy  re- 
ligion. 

With  regard  to  Christian  marriage  the  Catholic  Church 
teaches  precisely  what  her  divine  Founder  taught.  She  is 
not  free  to  alter  the  nature  of  marriage  as  proclaimed  by 


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MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


Jesus  Christ.  As  long  as  the  world  lasts  the  Catholic  Church 
will  not  change  one  essential  feature  of  the  sacrament  of 
matrimony,  regardless  of  what  changes  may  be  advocated 
or  made  by  others. 

Christ  proclaimed  the  nature  of  the  marriage  contract 
but  left  to  His  Church  the  details  pertaining  to  its  per- 
formance. Whenever  the  Catholic  Church  legislates  on  mar- 
riage it  is  only  with  regard  to  the  formalities  which  must 
be  observed  in  making  the  contract  valid.  Once  the  Chris- 
tian marriage  contract  is  duly  made  the  Church  regards  it 
just  as  Christ  regarded  it,  and  it  is  not  in  her  power  to  re- 
gard it  otherwise.  Christ  declared  that  marriage  was  indis- 
soluble. His  Church  so  declares,  and  will  so  declare  until 
the  end  of  time. 

When  Christ  proclaimed  marriage  indissoluble,  He  had 
in  mind  a valid  marriage.  Marriage,  like  any  civil  con- 
tract, may  be  valid  or  invalid.  If  a civil  contract  be  valid 
the  courts  will  uphold  it  regardless  of  consequences.  If  a 
civil  contract  be  invalid  the  courts  will  not  break  the  con- 
tract but  will  declare  that  no  contract  existed.  So  with  re- 
gard to  marriage.  If  a marriage  be  validly  performed  the 
Church  will  uphold  it  in  face  of  the  whole  world.  But  if  it 
be  not  validly  performed  the  Church  will  declare  it  null  and 
void.  In  doing  this  she  does  not  break  the  marriage  bond, 
but  proclaims  that  no  bond  existed. 

What  Is  Marriage? 

Marriage  may  be  defined  as  a legitimate  union  between 
man  and  woman  constituting  them  man  and  wife.  By 
legitimate  union  is  meant  a union  sanctioned  by  law,  whether 
the  law  be  racial,  civil  or  ecclesiastical.  The  term  man  and 
wife  signifies  mutual  rights  of  sexual  intercourse,  life  in 
common,  and  permanent  union.  Sexual  intercourse  which 
does  not  imply  life  in  common  and  permanence  is  not 
marriage  but  concubinage. 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


5 


The  marriage  of  an  individual  person  of  one  sex  to  an 
individual  person  of  the  other  sex  is  called  monogamy.  Op- 
posed to  monogamy  is  polygamy,  the  marriage  of  one  man 
to  several  women.  Polygamy  debases  and  demoralizes 
woman.  Monogamy  is  the  recognized  form  of  marriage 
among  civilized  people.  The  experience  of  mankind,  the 
voice  of  nature  and  the  institution  of  Jesus  Christ  proclaim 
that  monogamy — the  marriage  of  one  man  to  one  woman 
— is  the  proper  form  of  union  for  man  and  wife.  Every  na- 
tion that  has  been  Christianized  recognizes  and  upholds 
monogamous  marriage  only. 

Permanency 

Next  in  importance  to  the  union  of  one  man  with  one 
woman  in  marriage  is  the  permanency  of  the  union.  The 
nature  of  marriage  is  such  that  temporary  union  is  incom- 
patible with  its  purpose.  We  must  consider  marriage  as  an 
institution  affecting  not  this  or  that  individual,  but  the 
human  race.  Also  we  must  keep  in  mind  that  there  is  no 
law  nor  institution  among  mankind  that  does  not  cause 
some  individuals  pain,  loss  or  hardship  of  one  kind  or  an- 
other. If  we  abolish  a law  because  of  its  occasional  hard- 
ships or  abuses,  we  should  have  to  abolish  every  law  and 
every  institution  in  the  world.  Taxes,  speed  laws,  health 
laws,  etc.,  at  times  cause  great  inconvenience  and  even  hard- 
ship on  individuals,  but  the  welfare  of  the  public  at  large 
demands  nevertheless  that  these  laws  be  carried  into  effect. 
So  with  marriage,  the  good  of  mankind  requires  that  in  spite 
of  incidental  hardship  the  bond  be  permanent. 

By  nature  man  is  drawn  to  associate  sexually  with 
woman.  Nature’s  purpose  in  this  union  is  the  perpetuation 
of  the  human  race.  The  natural  and  ordinary  result  of  mar- 
riage is  offspring.  In  exceptional  cases  children  may  not  be 
the  outcome  of  sex  relationship,  but  they  are  the  normal 
and  ordinary  consequence.  Children  have  the  natural  right 


6 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


to  the  care,  protection  and  love  of  father  and  mother.  Un- 
less marriage  be  permanent  children  are  deprived  of  this 
natural  right. 

If  death  remove  either  parent  that  is  the  affair  of  Provi- 
dence. The  Creator  has  the  right  to  rule  the  world  as  He 
sees  fit,  and  the  wisdom  to  dispose  of  His  creatures  for  their 
ultimate  welfare.  God  is  the  Author  of  Nature,  man  is  His 
subject  and  bound  by  nature’s  laws.  Hence  for  man  to 
deprive  his  children  of  what  nature  entitles  them  to,  is  the 
violation  of  nature’s  ordinance.  A child  by  the  devotion 
and  sacrifice  of  either  father  or  mother  alone,  may  be  reared 
satisfactorily,  but  it  is  ordinarily  exceptional,  and  always 
there  is  left  a rancor  in  the  heart  -of  .Ifee^child  who  is  de- 
prived of  either  father  or  mother  otherwise  than  by  the  na 
oi 

Besides  the  children,  the  mother  must  be  considered. 
A mother  is  not  ordinarily  independent  and  free  to  live  her 
own  life.  Motherhood  has  made  her  responsible  for  those 
to  whom  she  has  given  birth.  By  marriage  she  gave  her 
maidenhood  to  her  husband.  That  can  never  be  restored 
to  her.  In  giving  that  she  gave  what  is  most  precious  to 
woman.  In  return  the  man  engaged  to  be  her  support  and 
protector.  Motherhood  and  wifehood  demand  permanence 
of  the  marriage  bond.  Civil  law  recognizes  this  indirectly, 
since  it  obliges  man  to  supply  by  alimony  what  is  renounced 
by  divorce  when  for  just  cause  the  courts  grant  the  woman 

va  decree  of  separation.  

Toman,  Yegar4in^rrrarr  i'age  disinterestedly , would  con- 
sider it  otherwise  than  permanent.  No  normal  man  con- 
tracts marriage  except  with  the  intention  of  forming  a last- 
ing union.  No  man  living  but  feels  in  his  heart  that  the  na- 
ture of  marriage  demands  permanency.  The  status  of  wife, 
mother  and  children  cry  out  for  the  lasting  union  of  the 
bond  of  matrimony. 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


7 


Family  Difficulties 

Marriage  is  no  exception  to  other  states  of  life.  In 
every  department  of  life  we  must  expect  difficulties.  For 
the  sake  of  success  in  business  or  a profession  people  must 
patient  ly.  x^diix£~Ja^y.  incon 1 y hard- 
ships/The  home  is  the  biggest  business  of  life,  lit  is  worth 
while  exercTsirTgTestraint  arid  forbearmice  for  the  sake  of  the 
family  just  as  much  and  even  more  than  for  success  in  busi- 
ness. The  Catholic  Church  recognizes  all  the  difficulties  of 
married  life,  and  has  provided  for  them  by  suitable  remedies, 
but  not  by  absolute  divorce  with  the  right  to  re-marry. 

Divorce,  with  right  to  re-marry,  has  done  more  to  break 
(ip  families  than  all  the  difficulties  and  differences  that  occur 
in  family  life.  Man  is  fickle.  When  he  pledges  his  troth 
to  be  faithful  to  the  maiden  he  takes  in  marriage  he  means 
it.  But  the  heart  of  man  is  restless.  He  seeks  novelty.  A 
new  face  captivates  him.  Infatuated  by  a new  love  he  not 
only  loses  his  love  for  her  to  whom  he  pledged  it,  but  begins 
to  hate  her  because  she  is  an  obstacle  to  his  new  attraction. 
If  there  were  no  possibility  of  a new  union  he  would  dis- 
miss from  his  thoughts  the  object  of  his  temptation.  But 
with  the  hope  of  a new  union  he  seeks  to  break  the  old. 
He  creates  a condition  of  incompatibility  which  eventually 
leads  to  the  severance  of  the  marriage  tie,  and  then  hastens 
to  form  a new  alliance.  Little  difficulties  and  misunder- 
standings which  would  vanish  or  be  overcome  by  patience, 
if  marriage  held  until  death,  assume  larger  and  larger  pro- 
portions where  there  is  prospect  of  a new  union. 

For  sixteen  centuries  there  was  no  such  thing  as  divorce 
in  Christendom,  and  during  that  period  people,  although 
they  had  their  trials  then  as  now,  lived  contentedly.  Sin- 
gle life  has  its  difficulties  as  well  as  married  life.  The  only 
way  to  avoid  difficulties  is  to  cease  to  be  mortal.  Every 
career  of  life  has  its  misunderstandings  and  hardships  and 


8 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


suffering.  Marriage  is  no  exception.  Married  life  offers  no 
immunity  from  the  cares,  responsibilities  and  misunder- 
standings of  life. 

Thorns  Among  the  Roses 

Divorce  does  not  remedy  marriage  ills  but  aggravates 
and  multiplies  them.  When  a man  divorces  his  wife  and 
marries  another  he  persuades  himself  that  he  has  found  an 
angel  and  that  his  new  life  will  be  a path  of  roses.  But  be- 
fore long  he  finds  the  thorns  as  before.  Divorce  leads  to 
divorce.  Many  people  live  more  miserably  with  their  second 
mate  than  with  their  first;  and  yet  more  miserably  with  the 
third. 

For  Catholics  the  matter  is  settled  once  for  all  by  Him 
Who  made  man.  God,  the  Author  of  Nature  and  the  Ruler 
of  the  World,  has  proclaimed  that  marriage  is  indissoluble. 
The  Catholic  Church  is  the  Voice  of  God  in  the  world.  “He 
that  heareth  you,  heareth  Me”  (Luke  x.  16).  Hence  until 
the  end  of  time  the  Catholic  Church  will  echo  the  words  of 
her  divine  Founder:  - — 

/“From  the  beginning  of  the  creation,  God  made  them 
yfnale  and  female.  For  this  cause  a man  shall  leave  his 
/ father  and  mother;  and  shall  cleave  to  his  wife.  And 
t they  two  shall  be  in  one  flesh.  Therefore  now  they  are 
not  two,  but  one  flesh.  What  therefore  God  hath  joined 
^^together,  let  not  man  put  agunden.  y . Whosoever  shall 
puFaway  hiTwifelmd  marry~aBbIHer,  committeth  adul- 
tery against  her.  And  if  the  wife  shall  put  away  her 
husband,  and  be  married  to  another,  she  committeth 
adultery”  (Mark  x.  6-12). 

This  is  the  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  also  the  teaching 
of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  moreover  will  be  her  teaching 
on  marriage  to  the  end  of  time. 


n 


MARRIAGE  AND  ANNULMENT 

IT  is  safe  to  say  that  the  most  important  natural  institu 
tion  for  human  welfare  is  marriage.  A nation  is  vigor- 
ous in  proportion  to  the  correctness  of  its  family  life; 
and  proper  family  life  depends  in  great  part  on  the  char- 
acter of  marriage.  Not  only  the  nation  as  a whole,  but  its 
individual  members,  as  well,  are  affected  vitally  by  the  na- 
ture of  marriage. 

People  whose  home  life  is  satisfactory  not  only  love 
home  but  country  also.  Men  and  youths  whose  family  life 
is  attractive  will  defend  home  and  country  at  all  cost.  Those 
whose  home  is  congenial  will  be  concerned  for  the  govern- 
ment which  safeguards  the  home.  Thus  it  is  that  the  home 
makes  patriots;  and  patriotism  is  the  best  defense  of  coun- 
try. It  is  the  home  that  attaches  people  to  country  and 
government.  It  is  home  welfare  that  gives  man  inspira- 
tion to  achieve  and  to  endure.  It  is  to  make  the  home  ever 
better  that  urges  man  to  worthy  ambition.  The  home  ac- 
cordingly is  a most  important  factor  in  individual  and  na- 


It  is  common  sense  therefore  to  take  every  right  means 
in  order  to  maintain  the  home  in  its  integrity.  A business 
man  makes  many  personal  sacrifices  for  the  success  of  his 
business,  whatever  it  may  be.  The  biggest  business  of  life 
is  the  family.  No  matter  what  success  one  may  have  in 
tradeTTn  society,  or  in  public  office,  if  family  life  is  not 
right,  one  has  not  made  a success  of  life.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  one’s  family  life  is  what  it  should  be,  one  is  able 
to  face  the  vicissitudes  of  life  in  a spirit  of  buoyancy,  which 
if  it  does  not  ensure  material  success  at  least  affords  strength 
and  courage  to  cope  with  every  obstacle. 

The  experience  of  mankind  as  well  as  the  voice  of  na- 


1 


10 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


ture  proclaims  that  monogamy,  the  marriage  of  one  man 
to  one  woman,  is  the  proper  form  of  union  for  man  and 
wife.  It  is  common  sense  therefore  to  uphold  monogamy. 
And  this  is  what  the  Catholic  Church  has  done  from  the 
beginning.  Through  her  teaching  and  efforts  every  country 
which  has  been  Christianized  recognizes  monogamous  mar- 
riage only.  At  times  polygamy  has  been  the  greatest  ob- 
stacle to  her  missionary  efforts. 

In  considering  marriage  we  must  keep  in  mind  the 
unique  character  of  the  contract,  which  concerns  not  only 
the  man  and  woman  who  make  it,  but  also  the  family  which 
ordinarily  results  from  it,  and  society,  of  wbich  the  family 
is  an  essential  factor.  Contracts  which  concern  only  those 
who  make  them  may  or  may  not  be  rescinded  by  mutual 
consent,  but  marriage  concerns  others  besides  the  individuals 
who  form  the  contracting  parties.  It  is  because  matrimony 
affects  vitally  the  family  and  society  that  nature  has  dictated 
the  permanence  of  the  bond. 

Married  life  offers  no  immunity  to  the  cares,  responsi- 
bilities and  misunderstandings  of  life.  Divorce  does  not 
remedy  marriage  evils  but  multiplies  them.  Permanency 
of  the  marriage  bond  has  undoubtedly  many  undesirable 
consequences,  but  they  are  as  nothing  compared  with  the 
dreadful  evils  of  divorce  with  re-marriage.  The  Church 
legislates  for  mankind.  Every  legislation  which  makes  for 
the  general  good,  occasions  hardship  in  individual  cases. 
The  pure-food  law  may  at  times  cause  severe  and  unmerited 
loss  to  an  individual  concern  or  person  but  it  safeguards 
the  people. 

In  military  affairs  the  interests  of  the  individual  soldier 
must  be  subordinated  to  those  of  the  army.  In  matters  of 
health  the  individual  must  be  secondary  to  the  public,  as 
we  see  when  a person  is  quarantined  or  otherwise  incon- 
venienced for  the  sake  of  the  general  good.  The  marriage 
of  one  to  one,  and  the  permanence  of  the  bond  until  death 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


11 


severs  it,  may  cause  individual  hardship  in  specific  cases. 
That  is  the  nature  of  everything  human.  But  it  can  be 
truly  said  that  polygamy  and  divorce  have  wrought  far  more 
suffering  on  mankind  than  has  monogamous  and  permanent 
marriage. 

The  mistake  that  many  make  is  to  think  that  marriage 
changes  people’s  nature,  ancT  that  in  matrimony  one  must 
not  expect  the  difficulties  inherent  in  every  department  of 
life.  If  a man  or  woman  have  an  affinity  outside  wedlock 
it  is  only  natural  that  marriage  relations  will  become 
strained.  A man  or  woman  in  love  with  another  does  not 
have  to  look  far  or  long  to  find  incompatibility.  But  if  they 
know  that  no  future  marriage  is  possible  during  the  lifetime 
of  either,  they  bear  patiently  the  shortcomings  of  each  other 
and  eventually  become  congenial  or  at  least  bearable  to 
each  other. 

Those  who  plead  hardship  or  incompatibility  as  cause 
for  divorce  act  differently  towards  marriage  from  what  they 
do  to  everything  else  in  life.  Suppose  one  pleaded  hard- 
ships as  a cause  for  not  keeping  one’s  word  of  honor.  Yet 
no  word  of  honor  equals  the  marriage  vow.  Suppose  one 
pleaded  hardship  for  not  paying  the  income  tax! 

Valid  Contract 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Catholic  Church  proclaims 
the  indissolubility  of  the  marriage  bond,  how  explain  the  re- 
marriage of  Catholics  while  both  parties  to  a former  union 
are  living?  In  all  such  cases  the  Church  does  not  sever 
the  marriage  bond,  but  proclaims  that  a bond  never  really 
existed.  The  marriage  bond  is  a serious  and  sacred  tie.  To 
be  valid  it  must  conform  to  the  requirements  of  nature  and 
law.  Whenever  the  Church  examines  into  a marriage,  it  is 
not  with  a view  to  dissolving  it,  but  only  of  learning 
whether  or  not  its  bond  was  valid. 


12 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


A contract  must  be  entered  into  freely.  If  force  or  fear 
be  employed  in  a civil  contract,  it  is  null.  Under  intimida- 
tion a person  may  do  almost  anything.  The  Church  decrees 
that  both  parties  to  the  marriage  contract  must  be  free. 
If  it  can  be  established  that  the  marriage  was  forced  by 
violence  or  unlawful  threats,  it  is  no  marriage. 

When  the  Roman  Rota  declared  that  the  Marlborough- 
Vanderbilt  marriage  was  null  and  void  because  of  coercion, 
unusual  interest  and  considerable  misunderstanding  was 
created.  Annulment  is  not  divorce.  Divorce  is  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  marriage  bond.  Annulment  is  the  declaration 
that  no  such  bond  existed.  The  Catholic  Church  in  the  case 
of  a consummated  Christian  marriage,  has  never  granted  a 
divorce  with  right  to  re-marry.  It  has  declared  many  an- 
nulments of  marriages.  Every  time  a civil  court  sets  aside 
a contract  by  declaring  it  null  and  void,  it  pronounces  an 
annulment.  The  civil  court  does  not  break  a contract  by 
annulling  it  but  simply  affirms  that  the  agreement  in  ques- 
tion was  no  contract  at  all. 

Marriage  is  a contract.  Christ  elevated  the  Christian 
marriage  contract  to  the  dignity  of  a Sacrament  but  it  re- 
mains essentially  a contract.  By  the  marriage  ceremony 
the  contracting  parties  mutually  dispose  of  what  is  of  most 
consequence  to  each,  namely  their  own  persons.  The 
very  nature  of  a contract  requires  that  what  one  disposes 
of  must  be  one’s  own,  and  that  one  must  be  free  to  dispose 
of  it  or  to  retain  it. 

A lack  of  free  consent  would  invalidate  a marriage  even 
if  the  Catholic  Church  never  existed.  Natural  justice  and 
natural  law  demand  that  a person  be  free  in  executing  a 
contract.  In  any  civilized  country,  if  a person  were  coerced 
into  signing  a civil  contract,  as  Consuelo  Vanderbilt  was 
coerced  in  her  marriage  contract,  the  courts  would  nullify  it. 

It  may  seem  to  some  people  that  to  annul  a marriage 
because  of  the  absence  of  free  consent  is  to  open  the  door 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


13 


to  laxity.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  existence 
of  coercion  must  be  proved  beyond  a shadow  of  doubt.  The 
testimony  of  the  coerced  party  must  be  established  by  un- 
questionable corroboration.  Annulment,  far  from  letting 
down  the  bars  of  Christian  marriage,  makes  stronger  than 
ever  the  barrier  to  divorce.  The  Church  which  has  an- 
nulled the  marriage  bond  of  Marlborough’s  invalid  marriage 
suffered  the  loss  of  England  to  the  Faith  rather  than  break 
the  bond  of  the  valid  marriage  of  her  king,  Henry  VIII. 


Ill 


DIVORCE 


ECENTLY  a gentleman  said  to  me:  “Why  is  it  that 


your  Church,  being  so  strict  about  divorce,  is  not 


stricter  about  people  getting  married?”  I told  him 
that  he  would  never  ask  that  question  if  he  had  ever  tried 
to  get  married  to  a Catholic.  I then  showed  him  that  the 
Church  takes  such  precautions  with  marriage  that  some 
criticize  her  for  making  it  too  difficult.  She  takes  all  this 
care,  and  makes  her  children  take  it,  because  marriage  is 
the  most  consequential  contract  a human  being  can  make. 
However,  in  spite  of  all  her  pains  and  precaution,  people 
do  at  times  make  unfortunate  marriages. 

Most  marriage  trouble  in  our  day  comes  about  from 
hasty  marriages.  Moreover,  many  of  the  young  people,  es- 
pecially in  cities,  are  altogether  unqualified  for  the  duties 
and  exigencies  of  married  life.  As  young  women  and  young 
men  pass  you  on  the  street,  and  you  notice  their  frivolous- 
ness and  license  you  wonder  what  sort  of  parents  they  can 
become.  Young  women  are  almost  disguised  by  artificial 
devices  to  beautify  themselves;  and  young  men  seem  to  dis- 
regard all  the  proprieties  in  their  association  with  them. 
These  are  the  young  folks  who  are  to  become  husband  and 
wife,  father  and  mother.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  in  so  many 
cases  marriages,  after  the  first  few  months,  settles  down  to 
a condition  of  mere  tolerance?  Love  seems  to  have  de- 
parted. Rather  it  was  really  never  there.  It  was  just  sex 
attraction  of  the  animal  sort,  which  is  fickle  and  selfish. 
Hence,  after  marriage,  when  familiarity  discloses  the  arti- 
fices of  courtship,  and  each  knows  the  other  for  what  she 
or  he  is,  misunderstandings  begin. 

Incompatibility  is  a modern  matrimonial  ailment,  due 
to  the  fact  that  it  may  open  the  door  to  a new  alliance. ' 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


15 


When  courting,  and  up  to  the  marriage  day,  both  parties 
were  very  compatible.  It  is  true  that  in  the  intimate  na- 
ture of  married  life,  one’s  defects  stand  out  in  a particularly 
annoying  manner.  But  married  life,  just  as  every  other 
career  of  life,  calls  for  patience  and  self-restraint. 

If,  however,  in  spite  of  everything,  the  marriage  situ- 
ation becomes  intolerable,  as  it  does  sometimes,  the  Church 
advises  separation  rather  than  to  live  in  sin,  for  sin  it  is  to 
live  in  animosity  and  at  cross-purposes.  But  separation  is 
advisable  only  as  the  very  last  resort,  and  with  every  pre- 
caution for  the  well-being  of  the  children.  But  although 
the  Church  permits  separation  in  extreme  cases  she  never 
sanctions  divorce  with  right  to  re-marry. 

Origin  of  Divorce 

Until  the  Protestant  Reformation  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  divorce  in  Christendom.  Luther  granted  the  first 
divorce  to  a prince  who  supported  his  innovation.  Henry 
VIII  in  effect  granted  himself  a divorce,  in  order  to  marry 
his  wife’s  maid.  Gradually  a new  doctrine  of  divorce  crept 
in  by  interpreting  Christ’s  words  permitting  separation  to 
mean  divorce  with  right  to  re-marry.  But  Christ  Himself 
plainly  declared  that  although  separation  was  lawful  under 
certain  circumstances  divorce  with  right  to  re-marry  was 
never  lawful.  Here  are  His  words:  “Every  one  that  putteth 
away  his  wife,  and  marrieth  another,  committeth  adultery: 
and  he  that  marrieth  her  that  is  put  away  from  her  husband, 
committeth  adultery”  (Luke  xvi.  18).  It  would  be  impos- 
sible to  word  legislation  more  unequivocally  than  that. 

It  is  a matter  of  gratification  to  Catholics  to  observe  that 
many  who  are  not  of  the  Catholic  Faith  are  beginning  to 
recognize  that  her  position  on  marriage  and  divorce  is  the 
only  right  one.  Recently  a Protestant  organization  has  been 
formed  in  order  to  stem  the  tide  of  evil  resulting  from  the 


16 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


moral  cancer  of  divorce.  The  New  York  Times  published 
the  following  news  item: 

“The  Sanctity  of  Marriage  Association  launched 
a movement  to  bar  absolutely  the  marriage  of 
divorced  persons  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 
The  Sanctity  of  Marriage  Association  is  headed  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Milo  H.  Gates,  vicar  of  the  Chapel  of  the  In- 
tercession, Trinity  Parish;  and  its  Executive  Committee 
includes,  among  others,  Bishop  William  T.  Manning, 
Bishop  Frederick  Burgess  of  Long  Island  and  Bishop 
Paul  Matthews  of  New  Jersey. 

“The  proposed  law  is: 

“No  minister,  knowingly  after  due  inquiry,  shall 
solemnize  the  marriage  of  any  person  who  has  been  or 
is  the  husband  or  the  wife  of  any  person  living  from 
whom  he  or  she  has  been  divorced  for  any  cause  arising 
after  marriage.  Nor  shall  it  be  lawful  for  any  member 
of  this  Church  to  enter  upon  a marriage  when  either  of 
the  contracting  parties  is  the  husband  or  the  wife  of  any 
other  person  then  living  from  whom  he  or  she  has  been 
divorced  for  any  cause  arising  after  marriage. 

“The  association  gives  the  following  reasons  why  in 
its  judgment  the  one  ‘exception’  should  be  repealed: 

“Because  nowhere  in  the  New  Testament  is  there  a 
single  word  in  support  of  re-marriage  of  either  party  af- 
ter ‘putting  away’  during  the  lifetime  of  the  other. 

“Because  nowhere  either  in  the  Old  or  the  New 
Testament  is  there  any  assumption,  much  less  assertion, 
of  the  modern  theory  that  adultery,  or  any  other  sin, 
ipso  facto,  dissolves  a marriage,  which  is  not  a mere  con- 
tract but  a state  or  condition. 

“Because  nowhere  in  the  history  of  the  first  three 
centuries,  when  the  Church  was  suffering  persecution 
and  was  free  from  all  entanglements  with  the  State,  can 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


17 


there  be  found  a single  author  who  interprets  the  excep- 
tive clauses  of  St.  Matthew  about  ‘putting  away’  as  rea- 
son for  re-marriage  during  the  life  of  the  other  party. 

“Because  nowhere  since  the  fourth  century,  in  the 
whole  Western  Church,  down  to  the  year  1868  was  there 
any  canonical  allowance  for  the  re-marriage  of  the  so- 
called  ‘innocent  party.’ 

“Because,  in  accordance  with  Our  Lord’s  pragmatic 
test,  ‘by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them,’  the  census 
reports  for  the  United  States,  with  their  forty-eight  codes 
and  fifty-two  causes  for  sundering  the  bond,  show  the 
most  rapid  increase  of  divorces  of  any  country,  pagan 
or  Christian,  in  the  world.” 

Marriage  Regulations 

It  is  a matter  of  experience  that  some  Catholics  who 
have  been  married  have  had  the  marriage  set  aside  and  have 
re-married.  How  explain  this  in  view  of  the  Catholic  doc- 
trine of  the  indissolubility  of  marriage?  To  understand  this 
we  need  to  know  just  what  constitutes  a marriage.  It  may 
be  said  at  the  outset  that  among  Christians  no  consum- 
mated valid  marriage  has  ever  been  annulled,  and  never  can 
be  annulled. 

Christ  recalled  and  declared  the  nature  of  marriage,  but 
left  to  His  Church  the  regulation  of  everything  else  per- 
taining to  it.  The  Church  then  decrees  how  this  marriage 
contract  is  to  be  executed.  If  one  makes  a civil  contract, 
and  it  is  not  done  legally,  it  is  null  and  void  before  the 
law.  The  Church  decrees  beforehand  how  the  marriage  con- 
tract must  be  made,  and  that  only  persons  who  are  mar- 
riageable may  become  parties  to  the  contract.  She  states 
beforehand  the  form  of  the  marriage  ceremony,  and  the  class 
of  people  who  are  marriageable,  and  declares  solemnly  that 
any  contract  in  violation  of  these  decrees  is  not  a valid 
marriage. 


18 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


This  power  of  legislating  on  the  formalities  of  the  mar- 
riage ceremony  was  given  to  the  Church  by  Christ  Himself: 
“Whatsoever  you  shall  bind  on  earth,  shall  be  bound  also 
in  heaven”  (Matt,  xviii.  18). 

Whenever,  therefore,  you  hear  of  Catholics  having  their 
marriage  set  aside  and  re-marrying,  you  will  know  that 
there  was,  in  the  case  in  question,  no  valid  previous  mar- 
riage. A so-called  Catholic  divorce,  is  no  divorce  at  all,  but 
a declaration  that  there  was  no  marriage  from  the  begin- 
ning. Persons  who  have  their  marriage  set  aside  may  have 
very  good  reasons  for  not  letting  the  public  know  why  it  was 
done.  The  Church  never  informs  the  public  except  the  case 
be  public,  and  the  reasons  for  the  so-called  divorce  have 
been  made  known  by  the  parties  to  the  divorce. 

In  business  contracts,  in  government  contracts,  in  army 
enlistment,  and  in  every  other  civil  matter,  the  parties  to 
a contract  are  held  to  it,  regardless  of  hardship  or  disillu- 
sionment. A clerk  in  a store  does  not  always  find  things 
congenial  or  satisfactory,  but  nevertheless  continues  at  work. 
A young  man  may  enlist  in  the  army  or  navy  and  find, 
after  he  has  signed,  that  his  companions  or  superior  officers 
or  the  work  is  not  compatible.  But  he  is  held  to  his  enlist- 
ment nevertheless.  The  marriage  bond  is  more  binding  than 
enlistment. 

Modern  Leprosy 

Before  this  modern  leprosy  of  divorce  became  prevalent, 
people  had  their  difficulties  in  married  life  just  as  they  have 
now.  But  because  divorce  was  unheard  of,  they  made  up 
their  differences  and  lived  on  if  not  happily,  at  least  satis- 
factorily. 

It  cannot  be  said  too  plainly  that  marriage  does  not 
change  one's  nature.  What  one  is  before  marriage  that  one 
will  be  after  marriage.  For  this  reason  the  Church  advises 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


19 


her  children  to  proceed  carefully  in  this  matter.  Nowadays 
young  people  rush  into  marriage  without  the  consideration 
that  they  would  exercise  in  buying  a house  or  an  automo- 
bile. Then  they  wonder  that  they  are  not  suited  to  each 
other!  They  are  caught  by  some  superficial  or  artificial 
attraction,  and  without  knowing  the  real  person  at  all  take 
a partner  for  life.  They  then  blame  marriage  or  the  Church 
for  what  they  themselves  are  responsible. 

Christ  came  not  to  remove  the  cross  but  to  help  us 
carry  it.  Married  life  has  its  cross,  as  single  life  has. 
Nothing  so  unites  a family  and  makes  its  members  so  de- 
voted to  one  another  as  the  mutual  bearing  of  its  hardship* 
and  mutual  consideration.  Married  life  calls  for  the  exer- 
cise of  virtue  as  well  as  does  single  life.  Divorce  proclaims 
that  separation  and  re-marriage  must  take  the  place  of  the 
Christian  virtues  of  patience  and  forbearance.  If  the  his- 
tory of  mankind  teaches  any  lesson  unmistakably  it  is  that 
divorce  is  the  moral  cancer  of  society,  of  the  family,  and  ot 
the  individual.  After  all,  man  cannot  improve  on  God. 


IV 


SEX  MATTERS 

THE  dominant  passion  of  mankind  is  that  which  re- 
lates to  sex.  The  Author  of  Nature  implanted  the 
sex  instinct  in  man  in  order  to  assure  the  perpetu- 
ation of  the  human  race.  Like  every  human  instinct 
the  sex  impulse  must  be  under  the  control  of  reason.  Some 
people  assert  that  since  the  sex  impulse  is  natural  it  should 
be  given  free  rein.  They  say:  “Why  are  our  tendencies 
given  us  if  not  to  follow ?” 

The  drunkard  follows  his  tendencies,  and  it  lowers  him 
to  the  level  of  the  beast.  The  dope-fiend  follows  his  tenden- 
cies, and  it  makes  him  a human  wreck.  The  thief  follows 
his  tendencies,  and  it  puts  him  behind  prison  bars.  The 
greatest  fallacy  ever  uttered  is  that  we  should  follow,  rather 
than  control,  our  impulses.  Giving  way  to  anger  makes  a 
man  temporarily  insane.  Indulging  the  appetite  for  food 
without  restraint  makes  dyspeptics  and  invalids.  No!  Man 
was  given  reason  to  rule  his  animal  tendencies,  and  every 
time  that  reason  gives  way  to  passion,  nature  exacts  a 
heavy  toll.  Our  hospitals,  prisons,  and  insane  asylums 
are  filled  with  the  victims  of  uncontrolled  tendencies  and 
passions. 


Self-Control 

In  no  career  of  life  may  we  be  controlled  by  our  feel- 
ings. The  merchant  must  attend  to  business  although  he 
may  feel  a strong  desire  for  rest  or  entertainment.  The 
professional  man  must  be  affable  when  his  inclination* 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


21 


prompt  him  to  be  indignant  or  sharp.  No  one  can  remain 
in  good  society  unless  he  control  his  impulses  in  conformity 
with  the  social  code. 

Sex  impulse,  above  all,  requires  rational  control  or  it 
will  hurl  a man  over  a precipice.  There  are  more  disasters, 
diseases,  tragedies  and  wrecks  from  uncontrolled  sex  im- 
pulses than  from  any  other  one  cause.  If  sex  impulse  be 
properly  controlled  it  means  that  man’s  life  generally  will 
be  rightly  regulated.  For  control  of  the  dominant  passion 
indicates  control  of  the  lesser  ones.  Passion  controlled  is 
like  a spirited  horse  under  firm  rein.  But  passion  uncon- 
trolled is  like  a fiery  steed  under  loose  rein.  Restraint  is 
the  law  of  life.  The  successful  athlete  must  restrain  him- 
self in  many  ways.  The  successful  statesman  must  restrain 
his  sentiments.  The  successful  leader  of  men  must  restrain 
his  likes  and  dislikes. 

In  every  normal  person  there  is  a conflict  between  ra- 
tional and  animal  nature.  We  approve  of  what  is  good  but 
find  ourselves  drawn  to  evil.  So  great  a saint  as  the  Apostle 
Paul  found  this  conflict  in  himself  between  soul  and  body. 
Chesterton  has  said  that  if  Revelation  did  not  teach  the 
fact  of  original  sin  man  would  have  to  invent  some  such 
doctrine  to  explain  the  conflict  in  human  nature. 

Man  is  the  only  being  in  which  there  is  internal  con- 
flict. Animals  have  external  foes.  Man’s  greatest  foe  is 
within.  His  greatest  battles  are  with  himself.  He  must 
either  master  his  passions  or  become  their  slave.  There  is 
no  slavery  like  that  forged  by  evil  habits,  as  witness  the 
drug-addict  or  the  victim  of  sex  offenses.  It  is  doubtless  an 
effort  at  times  to  control  our  passions,  but  the  consequence 
of  not  controlling  them  is  more  painful  than  the  effort  to 
control.  An  act  repeated  generates  a tendency.  A tendency 
unchecked  forms  a habit.  A habit  forges  the  chains  of 
slavery.  There  is  no  misery  on  earth  comparable  to  that 
of  the  victim  of  uncontrolled  sex  impulse. 


22 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


Catholic  Principles 

It  is  often  asked  why  the  Catholic  Church  lays  such 
stress  on  purity  of  morals.  It  is  because,  with  the  wisdom 
of  God,  she  knows  that  nothing  makes  for  personal  and  so- 
cial welfare  so  much  as  purity  of  mind  and  body.  This 
calls  for  self-mastery  or  self-denial.  Christ  proclaimed: 
“If  any  man  will  be  My  disciple  let  him  deny  himself” 
(Luke  ix.  23).  Self-denial  is  the  fundamental  principle  of 
the  Christian  life.  Self-control  in  sex  matters  is  the  key  to 
peace,  welfare  and  salvation.  Many  crimes  are  connected, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  with  sex  offenses.  Lying,  theft, 
jealousy,  revenge,  murder,  are  often  directly  or  indirectly 
associated  with  sex  sins.  In  brief,  unless  man  control  sex, 
sex  will  control  him;  and  the  sex-controlled  man  is  the 
most  miserable  slave  on  earth. 

We  should  not  be  surprised,  therefore,  that  the  Church 
of  God  so  carefully  directs  and  safeguards  her  children  with 
regard  to  sex  and  all  that  it  implies.  We  should  rather  ex- 
pect a divine  religion  to  teach  mankind  the  most  effective 
way  of  controlling  the  dominant  passion,  and  making  it 
serve  the  beneficial  and  salutary  purpose  which  the  Author 
of  Nature  intends. 

We  hear  a great  deal  at  present  about  psychology  and 
mental  suggestion.  Because  the  Church  of  Christ  is  divine 
she  knows  the  soul  of  man  without  the  science  of  psy- 
chology. She  is  taught  of  God  and  guided  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Psychology  affirms  that  mental  suggestion  has  a 
strong,  sometimes  an  overpowering,  influence  on  bodily  ac- 
tion. The  Church  of  Christ,  as  a true  psychologist,  guards 
her  children  against  mental  suggestion  relative  to  sex  mat- 
ters. She  forbids  immoral  thoughts  and  dangerous  occa- 
sions of  sin.  She  knows  that  immoral  thoughts  ordinarily 
beget  immoral  deeds.  In  this  she  is  voicing  the  teaching 
of  Christ  Who  said:  “For  from  within  out  of  the  heart  of 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


23 


men  proceed  evil  thoughts,  adulteries,  fornications,  mur- 
ders” (Mark  vii.  21). 

In  matters  of  sex  there  is  an  intimate  relation  between 
thought  and  deed.  When  therefore  the  Catholic  Church  de- 
clares that  man’s  thoughts  must  be  clean  she  is  not  only 

proclaiming  what  Christ  explicitly  taught  but  is  also  pre- 

scribing what  psychology  affirms  to  be  the  best  possible 
means  of  maintaining  purity  of  life.  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  harbor  lustful  thoughts  or  to  frequent  dangerous  occa- 
sions without  falling  into  lustful  deeds.  Dangerous  occa- 
sions engender  bad  thoughts.  Bad  thoughts  tend  to  bad 
deeds.  The  Church  therefore  in  forbidding  dangerous  occa- 
sions and  impure  thoughts  strikes  at  the  very  root  of  sex 

offenses.  Like  a wise  and  skilled  physician,  she  does  not 

limit  her  prescriptions  to  symptoms  of  disease,  but  seeks 
their  root  and  applies  the  remedy  there.  Christ,  the  great- 
est of  psychologists,  declared:  “Blessed  are  the  clean  of 
heart:  for  they  shall  see  God”  (Matt.  v.  8). 


Sex  Instruction 

It  has  always  been  a problem  with  good  people,  what 
policy  to  pursue  with  regard  to  sex  instruction.  Modesty  is 
the  guardian  of  purity.  Modest  people  are  ordinarily  pure 
in  thought  and  deed.  Knowledge  of  evil  does  not  keep  peo- 
ple from  evil.  Those  who  know  most  about  the  evil  conse- 
quences of  impurity  frequently  become  the  worst  victims  of 
the  vice  of  impurity.  Perhaps  never  before  in  the  history 
of  mankind  was  there  so  much  sex  instruction  as  at  present, 
and  never  before  were  there  so  many  victims  of  the  vice  of 
impurity.  Our  predecessors  got  along  without  all  the  sex 
instruction  that  is  now  ruining  so  many  under  pretext  of 
educating  them.  The  purest  and  healthiest  nations  of  the 
world  have  been  those  least  acquainted  with  sex  knowledge. 
There  is  a natural  instinct  in  this  matter  which  dictates 


24 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


reserve.  A few  words  of  discreet  instruction  from  the  proper 
persons  at  the  right  time  is  all  that  is  necessary  for  sexual 
guidance. 

The  policy  of  the  Church  of  Christ  has  always  been  to 
safeguard  purity  by  upholding  lofty  ideals  and  virtuous  prin- 
ciples. But  above  all  the  Catholic  Church  develops  pure 
generations  by  having  her  children  realize  that  impurity  is 
a sin.  It  is  forbidden  by  Almighty  God.  That  is  the  great 
and  sufficient  reason  for  avoiding  sex  offenses. 

In  order  to  safeguard  persons  against  smallpox,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  familiarize  them  with  the  symptoms  of  the 
dread  disease.  The  health  officers  put  up  a warning  sign 
and  people  keep  away  from  the  scourge.  God,  the  highest 
authority,  labels  impurity  a sin,  and  declares  that  the  im- 
pure shall  not  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  That  is  more 
effective  against  sex  offense  than  all  the  means  devised  by 
man.  Moreover  in  order  to  help  her  children  to  be  pure 
the  Church  nourishes  them  with  the  grace-giving  sacraments 
established  by  her  divine  Founder.  It  is  impossible  to  par- 
take frequently  and  worthily  of  the  sacraments  and  become 
a victim  of  sex-domination. 

Unfortunately  many  of  the  youth  of  today  are  taught 
that  they  are  but  high-grade  animals.  God  has  no  part  in 
their  lives.  They  are  a law  unto  themselves.  We  see  the 
result  only  too  clearly  and  painfully.  These  misguided  ones 
are  repeating  the  sentiments  of  the  wicked  of  old  as  recorded 
in  Scripture:  “The  time  of  our  life  is  short  . . . come  there- 
fore, and  let  us  enjoy  the  good  things  that  are  present  . . . 
let  us  crown  ourselves  with  roses,  before  they  be  withered: 
let  no  meadow  escape  our  riot.  . . . Let  our  strength  be  the 
law  of  justice.  . . . These  things  they  thought,  and  were  de- 
ceived: for  their  own  wickedness  blinded  them”  (Wisdom 
ii.  1,  6,  8,  11,  21).  Too  late  did  these  victims  of  vice 
discover  their  error.  The  Bible  gives  us  their  words  of 
despair:  “We  wearied  ourselves  in  the  way  of  iniquity  and 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


25 


destruction,  and  have  walked  through  hard  ways,  but  the 
way  of  the  Lord  we  have  not  known  . . . but  we  are  con- 
sumed in  our  wickedness.  Such  things  the  sinners  said  in 
hell”  (Wisdom  v.  7,  13,  14). 

In  contrast  to  those  who  were  a law  to  themselves  defy- 
ing God’s  will,  is  the  end  of  those  who  reverenced  the  law 
of  God:  “But  the  just  shall  live  forevermore:  and  their 
reward  is  with  the  Lord  . . . therefore  shall  they  receive  a 
kingdom  of  glory,  and  a crown  of  beauty  from  the  hand  of 
the  Lord”  (Wisdom  v.  16,  17).  “Blessed  are  the  clean  of 
heart:  for  they  shall  see  God”  (Matt.  v.  8). 


V 


BIRTH  CONTROL 

BTRTH  control  was  termed  by  Theodore  Roosevelt 
race-suicide.  The  human  race  has  a life  as  well  as 
the  individual.  If  birth  control  were  practised  uni- 
versally the  human  race  would  perish.  In  sections  of  our 
own  country  where  birth  control  has  been  in  vogue  the  peo- 
ple have  died  out  and  given  place  to  strangers.  Birth  con- 
trol is  nature  perversion.  It  employs  natural  faculties  in  a 
way  not  only  not  intended  by  nature  but  contrary  to  na- 
ture’s purposes.  It  defeats  the  plan  of  the  Author  of  Na- 
ture as  far  as  the  creature  can  interfere  with  the  plans  of 
the  Creator. 

When  we  speak  of  birth  control  we  mean  artificial  in- 
terference with  the  processes  of  nature.  There  is  birth  con- 
trol and  birth  control.  Persons  who  do  not  marry  limit 
births.  Married  persons  who  practise  self-control  in  sexual 
relations  limit  births.  But  the  term  birth  control  is  not 
applied  to  either  of  these  classes.  The  birth  control  which 
nature  condemns  is  the  use  of  a natural  faculty  contrary 
to  nature’s  purposes. 

An  example  may  enable  us  to  understand  the  unnatural- 
ness of  birth  control.  If  a person  were  to  eat  just  for  the 
gratification  of  eating,  and  would  not  allow  the  food  to  pass 
into  the  stomach  but  would  eject  it  in  some  way,  he  would 
soon  starve  to  death.  He  would  be  guilty  of  suicide.  This 
is  just  what  birth  control  tends  to  do  to  the  human  race  by 
contraceptive  methods. 

Nature  Perversion 

Birth  control  by  the  use  of  contraceptives  is  evil  because 
it  is  nature  perversion.  Unmarried  adults  limit  birth  sup- 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


27 


ply  by  refraining  from  marriage;  which  is  their  privilege. 
A person  is  free  to  make  a contract  but  not  free  to  play  fast 
and  loose  with  it  when  made.  It  may  be  objected  that 
births  are  limited  just  as  much  by  persons  not  marrying  as 
by  birth  control  in  marriage.  This  is  true,  but  while  it  is 
criminal  to  violate  the  nature  of  a contract  it  is  not  criminal 
to  abstain  from  making  a contract. 

It  may  further  be  objected  that  married  persons  who 
practise  self-control  limit  offspring.  This  is  likewise  true, 
but  it  is  one  thing  to  wreck  an  automobile  while  on  a joy- 
ride, violating  the  law;  quite  another  thing  to  have  it 
wrecked  while  driving  carefully  and  observing  the  law.  The 
joy-rider  is  a criminal,  not  so  the  careful  driver,  even  though 
the  consequence  in  both  cases  be  the  same. 

Nature  will  take  care  of  the  perpetuation  of  the  human 
race,  but  this  does  not  lessen  the  guilt  of  those  who  pervert 
nature.  Birth  control  is  wrong  in  itself,  even  if  detriment 
never  followed;  just  as  stealing  is  wrong  even  though  it 
should  not  absolutely  ruin  the  victim. 

Some  defend  birth  control  by  saying  that  their  purpose 
is  not  to  prevent  offspring  but  to  limit  the  number  to  one 
or  two.  If  a thing  is  evil  it  is  not  changed  by  more  or 
less.  It  is  wrong  to  steal  whether  the  sum  be  two  hundred 
dollars  or  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Birth  control  is  a 
perversion  of  nature  and  immoral  whether  it  be  practised 
once  or  often. 

The  Fruits  of  Evil 

The  only  reason  why  birth  control  does  not  actually  de- 
stroy the  human  race  is  because  nature  destroys  birth  con- 
trollers. Prof.  S.  J.  Holmes,  of  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia. says:  “Intelligence  has  outwitted  nature  in  the  mat- 
ter of  regulating  the  birth  supply,  but  nature  gets  her  re- 
venge by  extinguishing  her  adversary.”  This  is  why  Roose- 
velt termed  birth  control  race-suicide.  Prof.  Holmes,  as  we 


28 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


have  seen,  called  birth  controllers  the  enemies  or  adversaries 
of  nature.  Birth  control  is  perversion  of  nature,  it  is  a sin 
against  nature,  and  in  the  end  meets  with  dreadful  penalties. 

Nature  attaches  gratification  to  certain  natural  func- 
tions in  order  to  assure  their  exercise.  Eating,  which  is 
necessary  to  sustain  life,  gratifies  the  palate.  Bodily  exer- 
cise gives  physical  and  mental  exhilaration.  Sleep  is  grate- 
ful to  tired  minds  and  bodies.  If  sleep,  exercise  and  eating 
were  not  associated  with  pleasure,  people  might  so  neglect 
themselves  that  before  they  were  conscious  of  the  neglect 
they  might  collapse  beyond  restoration.  So  with  regard  to 
the  sexual  act  whose  natural  purpose  is  to  perpetuate  the 
life  of  the  race.  Nature  has  attached  a gratification  to  it 
in  order  to  assure  its  exercise. 

The  responsibilities  of  bringing  up  children  and  provid- 
ing for  them  are  so  many  and  great,  that  unless  the  sex  urge 
strongly  impelled  people  to  the  procreative  act  no  children 
would  be  born  into  the  world,  and  the  human  race  would 
perish.  Even  as  it  is  there  are  not  a few  people  of  both 
sexes  who  have  an  aversion  to  cohabitation.  Unless  nature 
powerfully  attracted  the  sexes  to  intimate  relationship  the 
family  would  die  out.  A wise  Creator  has  wisely  provided 
for  the  perpetuation  of  mankind. 

Here  the  birth  controllers  may  say  that  they,  too,  ad- 
vocate the  perpetuation  of  the  race  but  in  a way  that  will 
be  for  its  betterment.  They  affirm  that  fewer  children  mean 
a better  world.  They  argue  that  they  can  provide  nicely 
for  one  or  two  children  but  not  for  more.  In  certain  parts 
of  New  England  this  plan  was  put  into  operation,  with  the 
result  that  soon  there  were  few  or  no  descendants  of  those 
who  adopted  it. 

Some  advocates  of  birth  control  affirm  that  what  they 
intend  is  a better  race.  But  if  a man  wants  a better  auto- 
mobile he  may  not  violate  the  laws  of  the  State  or  oi 
property  in  order  to  get  it.  There  are  other  ways  of  better- 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


29 


ing  one’s  condition  than  by  breaking  the  law.  The  thief 
wants  better  things  than  he  has.  That  does  not  justify  him 
in  stealing. 


Birth  Control  and  Poverty 

Others  plead  poverty  as  a reason  for  birth  control.  But 
it  is  not  the  poor  that  practise  this  vice  but  the  rich  mainly. 
Birth  controllers  maintain  that  they  can  do  more  for  their 
children  if  they  be  few  in  number.  So  could  a man  do  more 
to  dress  his  family  if  he  refused  to  pay  his  bills.  Nature 
prompts  all  mankind  to  better  their  condition,  but  by  legiti- 
mate means.  There  are  other  ways  of  bettering  offspring 
than  by  violating  nature’s  laws. 

Moreover  the  pampered  children  of  birth  controllers  are 
not  as  a rule  superior  nor  equal  to  children  of  large  fami- 
lies. Frequently  the  pampered  children  of  birth  controllers 
turn  out  to  be  social  parasites,  or  worthless  degenerates,  to 
the  sorrow  and  often  to  the  mortal  anguish  of  their  parents. 
These  spoiled  children  are  not  able  to  compete  with  the 
hardy  offspring  of  large  families.  Sir  John  Robertson,  M.D., 
a high  authority  in  the  matter,  says:  “It  is  very  questionable 
whether  the  members  of  large  families  do  not  make  better 
citizens  than  the  members  of  families  of  one  or  two  only.  . . . 
The  laborer  with  a family  of  five  or  six  children  is  on  the 
whole  better  off  and  lives  a happier  life  than  the  laborer 
without  a family  or  with  a family  of  one  or  two  only” 
(Official  Reports  of  the  City  of  Birmingham,  England, 
1924).  A child  in  a large  family  receives  a training  in  self- 
reliance,  unselfishness  and  manliness  which  the  offspring  of 
birth  controllers  seldom  or  never  acquire.  But  apart  from 
all  this,  even  if  children  were  bettered  by  the  practice  of 
this  unnatural  vice  by  their  parents,  it  would  be  the  same 
as  enriching  them  by  unlawful  means.  No  honorable  man 
wants  to  be  made  wealthier  by  crime. 


30 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


A Better  Human  Race 

Some  people  seek  to  justify  birth  control  by  saying  that 
they  desire  to  better  the  human  race.  Fewer  but  better 
children  make  for  a better  world,  they  argue.  Birth  con- 
trollers are  not  solicitous  for  the  race  but  for  their  own 
comfort  and  welfare.  They  are  shirkers.  They  know  that 
birth  control  instead  of  making  the  race  better  makes  it  dis- 
appear. A community  which  limits  offspring  to  one  or  two 
children  will  in  a few  generations  completely  vanish.  As 
Prof.  Holmes  has  said,  nature  takes  her  revenge  on  birth 
controllers  by  destroying  them.  Advocates  of  birth  control 
on  the  plea  of  bettering  the  race  are  refuted  by  nature  her- 
self. 

The  arguments  of  birth  controllers  are  camouflage.  In- 
stead of  admitting  that  they  are  practising  this  vice  in  order 
to  serve  their  own  pleasure  and  immediate  advantage,  they 
try  to  throw  dust  into  the  eyes  of  people  by  affirming  that 
they  are  solicitous  for  others.  Instead  of  being  willing  to 
make  the  sacrifices  and  efforts  required  to  bring  up  the 
children  whom  nature  would  ordinarily  give  them,  they  per- 
vert nature.  They  are  not  good  sports.  They  do  not  play 
the  game  fair.  They  want  all  the  thrills  but  none  of  the 
knocks  of  the  game. 

Legitimate  Restriction 

Instead  of  birth  control  there  is  a legitimate  way  of  re- 
stricting birth,  and  that  is  by  self-control,  which  people 
must  practise  in  every  other  sphere  of  life.  If  a man  wants 
an  automobile,  and  is  not  willing  to  pay  for  it,  he  goes  with- 
out. By  birth  control  principles  he  would  violate  the  law 
to  get  it. 

Birth  control  degrades  those  who  practise  it.  No  less  an 
authority  than  Dr.  Howard  A.  Kelly,  professor  of  gyne- 
cology, Johns  Hopkins  University,  says:  “All  meddling  with 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


31 


sex  relations  to  secure  facultative  sterility  degrades  the  wife 
to  the  level  of  a prostitute.  . . . There  is  no  right  or  decent 
way  of  controlling  births  but  by  total  abstinence”  ( Harper9 s 
Weekly , October  16,  1916).  Birth  controllers  in  their  sane 
moments  despise  themselves.  Some  may  be  dead  to  shame 
in  this  matter,  but  that  only  makes  them  more  degraded. 
Prof.  Paul  Bureau,  University  of  Paris,  states:  “Whether 
he  likes  it  or  not,  every  adult  who  claims  the  right  to  un- 
fruitful sexual  relationships  and  that  the  sexual  power  with 
which  he  is  endowed  is  for  his  own  pleasure  and  enjoyment, 
spreads  through  society  the  seeds  of  disintegration  and  dis- 
order” (U Indiscipline  des  Moeurs,  1924). 

Self-control,  not  birth  control,  needs  to  be  inculcated. 
Dr.  Paul  Dubois,  University  of  Berne,  affirms:  “There  are 
more  neurastheniacs  among  those  who  give  free-rein  to  their 
passions  than  among  those  who  know  how  to  escape  the 
yoke  of  animality.” 

Catholic  Viewpoint 

Catholics  refuse  to  practise  birth  control  because  God 
condemns  it.  Birth  control  is  a deadly  sin.  A Catholic  can- 
not receive  the  Sacraments  of  the  Church  and  practise  this 
unnatural  vice.  The  Church  condemns  it  because  nature 
and  God  condemn  it.  The  Bible  tells  us  that  for  com- 
mitting this  sin  Onan  was  struck  dead:  “The  Lord  slew  him, 
because  he  did  a detestable  thing”  (Gen.  xxxviii.  10). 
God’s  laws  are  not  subject  to  man’s  approval  or  pleasure. 
Nature’s  laws  are  God’s  laws. 

At  times  it  may  be  a hardship  to  observe  God’s  laws 
with  regard  to  marriage.  But  hardship  does  not  excuse  from 
observance  of  the  State  law.  Taxes  are  a hardship.  Every 
law  at  times  is  burdensome.  We  have  to  make  sacrifices 
and  exercise  restraint  in  every  department  of  life.  Marriage 
is  no  exception. 


32 


MARRIAGE  PROBLEMS 


Because  birth  controllers  are  not  punished  instantly  it 
does  not  mean  that  they  go  free.  Nature,  as  well  as  God, 
has  her  own  time  and  way  of  vindicating  herself.  We  may 
defy  God  if  we  will.  He  made  us  free.  He  will  not  physi- 
cally force  us  to  serve  Him.  But  we  violate  His  law  at  our 
own  peril.  We  never  know  how  or  when  He  will  deal  with 
those  who  do  not  respect  His  authority. 

Duty  to  the  State  often  requires  that  we  risk  health, 
possessions,  and  even  life.  It  was  not  agreeable  to  pay  war 
taxes,  nor  to  go  over-seas  to  face  deadly  gas  and  shells,  nor 
to  go  “over  the  top”  on  the  battle  line.  But  duty  to  coun- 
try demanded  this.  We  are  more  the  subjects  of  God  than 
of  the  State.  At  times  God’s  service  may  require  the  sacri- 
fice of  fortune,  health  or  life.  But  Christ  has  said:  “He 
that  shall  lose  his  life  for  My  sake,  shall  find  it.  For  what 
doth  it  profit  a man,  if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  suffer 
the  loss  of  his  own  soul?  Or  what  exchange  shall  a man 
give  for  his  soul?  For  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  the 
glory  of  His  Father  with  His  angels:  and  then  will  He 
render  to  every  man  according  to  his  works”  (Matt.  xvi. 
25-27). 

But,  in  the  words  of  Scripture,  “The  fool  hath  said  in 
his  heart:  There  is  no  God”  (Psalm  xiii.  1).  Today  there 
are  not  a few  who  play  fast  and  loose  with  nature  as  if  there 
were  no  God.  But  God  will  not  be  mocked.  In  His  own 
time  and  way  He  will  assert  His  authority.  Blessed  shall 
we  be,  if  when  we  meet  God  face  to  face,  it  will  be  to  hear 
from  Him  the  words  of  welcome  which  will  make  us  His 
beloved  children  forever  in  the  kingdom  He  has  prepared 
for  them  that  love  Him.  If  we  are  faithful  subjects  of  God 
here,  we  shall  be  His  beloved  children  hereafter.  Obedience 
to  God’s  law  is  the  title  to  everlasting  membership  in  the 
divine  family. 


SI 


